Project Muddy Hill - Thai Aviation History

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The Muddy Hill aircraft, with an aircrew of six, departed NATC in late July 1967, followed by twenty seven military, civilian contractor and civil service project personnel and support equipment via an USAF MAC C-141 aircraft for Udorn Thani, Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB). Udorn RTAFB was located in the northeastern sector of Thailand, just south of the Mekong River forming the Thailand-Laos border. The Air America compound at Udorn RTAFB was the project’s staging area for the next four months. Aircraft avionics systems test and road reconnaissance crewmember training flights were conducted around the Udorn area. Combat environment, aerial reconnaissance missions were conducted during both daytime and nighttime hours in the ‘Barrel Roll’ and ‘Tiger Hound’ areas of Laos. Military operational missions were fully briefed with intelligence, defensive threat scenarios, and conjunctive military flight operations in the mission areas. Target areas consisted of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and its road segments as well as other locations in the Plaine des Jarres in central Laos. Flight durations averaged 4-5 hours with takeoffs around 0500 and 1900 hours. While at Udorn RTAFB, the pilot and co-pilot’s seats were reinforced with seat armor salvaged from crashed Army helicopters. Mission flight parameters varied between 200 and 1500 feet absolute altitude on terrain following radar in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Laos. Primary target area guidance was accomplished by the author’s usage of a hand-held starlight (night vision) scope in the aircraft’s Plexiglas bow observer station. The author used the night vision scope imagery to locate road segments, navigation waypoints and individual targets. Voice commands via the aircraft’s inter-communication system were used to direct the plane commander to target locations. Usage of the night vision scope by the author also provided terrain avoidance to complement terrain following radar electronic commands. Suspected targets of interest were marked airborne flare parachutes that had been impregnated with green, chemiluminescent
dye. These flare parachutes were dropped from the sonobuoy dispensing chutes located in the aft portion of the aircraft. Several tactical missions experienced light, small arms ground fire with two missions encountering automatic anti-aircraft opposition. The Stereo DLIR system imprinted IR images directly on two rolls of 70mm format film. After processing at the USAF photo laboratory, this film was analyzed by photographic intelligence trained Muddy Hill personnel using a specially designed stereoscopic viewer. Tactically significant target information was reported to the USAF intelligence center at Udorn RTAFB. From August to December 1967, Project Muddy Hill (TG 50.8) completed a total of 60 avionics systems test/road reconnaissance-training flights. 14 flights (62 flight hours) consisting of low-level, active combat environment reconnaissance missions were also successfully completed. The Muddy Hill overseas deployment was terminated when the aircraft and project personnel returned to NATC in December 1967. Project Muddy Hill continued at NATC with several Navy officers becoming part of the Electronic Warfare Section, Weapons Systems Test Division, writing the necessary formal Muddy Hill Test Reports. Throughout 1968, the author crewed the Muddy Hill aircraft, Buno 135582, with additionally installed EO/other sensors, during surface ship reconnaissance and ASW scenario evaluation flights. NP-2H Buno 135582 remained at NATC as a permanent test bed aircraft, being assigned to MASDC, Davis Monthan AFB AZ in December 1970 and removed from U.S. Navy Inventory May 1971. The first NATC test and evaluation project to operate in Southeast Asia, Project Muddy Hill, successfully utilized the first airborne EO systems to be operationally evaluated in a combat environment. These systems served as the predecessor of more modern EO systems also successfully used in Vietnam combat in 1968-1969
Page 1 and 2: Project Muddy Hill by Lcdr Robert Z
Page 3: seven-foot long outside air intake

Project Muddy Hill - Thai Aviation History

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